


Cool down My Heat

by pampoo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, heat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 16:54:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21200978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pampoo/pseuds/pampoo
Summary: It's mating season for demons and Gaara is at his wits end. Little does he know that somewhere there in Konoha there is a little blonde fox that awaits him. Guilt and regret eat at Gaara for his past doings and he certainly did not expect THAT when he took off to Konoha. To talk business with the Hokage, of course, what else? GaaraxFemNaruto, sexual content





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Man in the Mirror

The water was cold. It was ice-cold, but it evaporated when it hit his burning skin. His breathing was heavy, he was short on breath. He was suffocating in this tremendous hotness that made the blood boil inside his veins, and made his heart thump as if it was kept there by force, threatening to break through his rib cage. The freezing water showered over him and yet he could feel himself sweating.

Gaara turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, the contact of his bare feet with the cold surface of the bathroom tiles made a short-lived relief shoot through his entire body and it all lasted less than a second before the familiar and oh-so-torturing heat took prevail once again.

A mess of damp red locks reflected in the mirror as Gaara sought out both support and relief by holding onto the sink – short-lived relief, once again, but relief, nonetheless. It would soon go away, he knew, this feeling that made him look back to any fight wounds, even the most severe, with nostalgia. He had been having these "heat attacks" for a few days now, with no warning whatsoever, and it was always the same – heart thumping, head feeling as if it was about to blow, heavy sweating, dizziness… But at the same time he was more aware of his surroundings – he could hear better, see clearer, smell stronger…And that smell among many…That one particular scent…

It made him go crazy.

Thump, thump, thump. His heart continued thumping wildly and as if on command, which was most definitely not Gaara's, because he had already deemed that he had completely no control over the reaction.

It started slowing down, and for the first time in a few long, long minutes, Gaara was able to take in a deep, calming breath, and then exhale.

At last.

There was a tentative knock on the door and it opened with a creak. In the reflection of the mirror, a man with purple war paint on his face appeared.

"Konoha is waiting. We gotta get going, Gaara," Kankuro said, meeting his gaze in the reflection. Maybe Gaara had let some kind of desperateness and curiosity shine or reflect in his eyes as if wondering to tell the other or not. Maybe he'd let fatigue show it's unwelcome head, because Kankuro suddenly asked, "Are you all right, Gaara?"

Concern sounded in his voice, but it was successfully outshined by surprise – surprise that Gaara could actually not be all right. Up until now, Gaara had always ignored physical pain and aches, or at least he hadn't shown any visible signs of suffering. That's why the young man didn't go see the medic nins when these sudden heat attacks started in the first place, but the impact of the last one which still had his breath hitching and hands shaking, made him reconsider this. Next time, he promised himself, next time this happens, I'll look for help.

"I'm fine," Gaara told his older brother. His voice sounded chocked. He cleared his throat, "give me a minute," he said and reached to his right to take the towel that was hanging on the ledge to dry himself off, as well as assure the still observing him Kankuro that he was indeed all right. Gaara buried his face in the soft towel and sure enough, after a moment or so, the door clicked shut and he was left with himself once again.

Once his brother had left, Gaara suddenly felt the fatigue that made his muscles go numb. For a moment he wondered how he was going to make it all the way to Konoha in this state. It was always like that, after those attacks. This one had been the worst until now though. And at registering how his skin still radiated heat, he considered the towel unneeded and let it pool onto the floor.

Gaara looked closely at his reflection. He was seventeen years old. He was the Kazekage. Since the invasion from five years ago, he was rather close with his siblings. He had the respect and trust of the villagers and he could have the love of… well, pretty much each and every girl and the occasional boy in the village, should he only accept it. He leaned closer and narrowed his eyes. Stupid girls. What did they like so much about him? What made them squeal and faint at him simply handing them a scroll containing the details of their mission? What? His position? Most probably. His mansion? That could be one of the things. His looks…? He hated his looks, because once they were the looks of a monster. Gaara despised the man in the mirror, he wanted to break it, wanted to hear the sound of it cracking, wanted to punch the mirror and watch the glass shatter to pieces…

And then the face started changing and it took the image of a blonde girl with sun-kissed skin and big blue eyes that could make the oceans jealous…and as Gaara froze with his fist mid-way, he stared wide-eyed, his sudden anger vanished just as suddenly. In his head echoed a scream that would haunt him the rare times he managed to fall asleep.

It was the scream of a beauty being tortured by a beast.

Eating guilt hit him, self-loathing hit him, regret hit him, and along with it all, came heat.


	2. The Girl By the Fountain

Naruto made her way through the crowd that was composed mainly of mincing nobles and priggish snobs. She felt so painfully short on breath that, despite the rules of secrecy she had bound and obligated herself with, she removed the porcelain mask that covered her face. It made little to no difference. The wedding orchestra muted the sounds of the nearby conversations, but surprisingly, despite the thumping in her ears and the fact she was almost running, Naruto could hear every single word.

She could even hear the dangling and jingling of the groom's heavy rings and bracelets as the man swayed his massive arms around and smugly explained how big his forth house was to a group of seemingly interested bootlickers.

Naruto, apart from her presently arising problem, wasn't so sure if she'd manage to last until morning without hitting anyone of those pompous fatsos. It wasn't just them that pissed her off - it was the fact that the bride was forced to marry one of them. The worst of them all, actually.

Taking a mission to guard the wedding of the Fire Daimyo's daughter and getting to spend a whole day around her, Naruto had her down as the sweetest girl alive. Princess Yumi reminded her so much of Hinata - the sweet, gentle Hinata, that the blonde more than often caught herself clenching her fists in rage. This was so unfair. Naruto couldn't help but imagine herself in princess Yumi's place. The mere thought of the likes of such a person, a stranger at the least, sleeping beside her, touching her, made her sick to the bones. Marrying some random fatass in order to please who? The Daimyo? The village? Like hell she would. That would cut her off from any possible way of finding her own true love because, even though she hadn't seen much of it throughout her life, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto believed in true love.

And she would not let anyone ever take it away from her.

A particularly hard thump and the sight of the exit had her abandon her thoughts and wish more than ever for some fresh air. The "Are you alright, Naruto?" that came from a fellow shinobi fell on deaf ears as she passed by in complete concentration directed towards finally reaching the exit. During any other circumstances, she would've laughed at how she completely resembled a prisoner wanting to break free.

At last, with a trembling hand, she slid the door open and then closed it just as shakily. The air should've been cooler, she thought and winced desperately. Now that she had no distraction and silence engulfed her, she felt the full impact of the heat that nested within her. On a nearby terrace, a woman wrapped her coat tighter and as she shivered, she headed back in. Her breath was visible as she exhaled. Naruto's own breath was visible. So why was she taking her jacket off now?

What was this heat that made her body shake and demand something she had no idea about so suddenly?

Her sandal tangled in a garland. Naruto cussed inwardly, simply because she lacked the needed amount of air within her lungs to voice her irritation. She kicked it away. Faint lights coming from the mansion behind her let her see where she was going as she continued stumbling forward.

The fingers of her right hand curled and uncurled a few times. She realized she had dropped her mask. The blonde would have been worried about it if only a second later that very hand hadn't shot up to clutch her chest. Her lungs burned and the girl made a few more weak steps to reach a fountain with sweet little angels with bows and arrows in their arms and cute tiny smiles. As much as her current state let, she glared daggers at them. Those little flying bastards, were they mocking her pain?

Supporting herself, Naruto sank a hand in the water. The hissing sound of hot iron being sunken into cold water was momentarily followed by the water starting to evaporate.

Silence.

"EEEEEEH?!" Naruto exclaimed with her mind refusing to believe it. Was she having hallucinations now? Both hands gripped tightly onto the marble (that should've felt cold, by the way), and sank her head to her shoulders in the water.

It felt…Hot. Naruto came out and immediately began coughing, she spat out the water that had gotten in her mouth. It was hot like tea. She turned around and a particularly hard thump from her heart caused her to slide down.

Naruto, yet again, clutched her chest tightly and gritted her teeth. Just a little more, she told herself, just a little bit more and it'll go away. A sudden shot of pain, however, made her let out a cry and shut her eyes closed tightly. Playing the game of a puppet and a master puppeteer, her body now demanded for her to draw quick, shallow breaths that made her throat go painfully dry and wish for the tea-like water of the fountain.

Naruto wanted to escape.

How do you escape your own body, though?

Hollow echoes rang through her ears and there was a faint sense of touch that tingled on her skin. It took Naruto some time to realize that something, no, someone, was before her, talking to her. A beat of sweat which was soon followed by another rolled down the side of her face as she parted her eyelids, a blurry version of a very worried Shikamaru came into view. He was kneeling in front of his comrade, at her current level of height. The alert and concern that shone in his wide eyes made him look unnatural and uncharacteristic compared to his usual persona of a lazy genius with no concern of what was going on whatsoever. This just made Naruto imagine how critical she must be looking.

"I'll go get some help!" He said hastily and was just about to shoot up when suddenly his wrist was trapped within an iron grip. Surprised, Shikamaru looked at her, then shot a tentative look back at the mansion. A particularly tight squeeze on the wrist made him look back at her. The genius must've spotted something in her eyes that begged for him to stay, to be by her side right then and there. He swallowed nervously. Placing a hand over hers, he tried to give himself a calm expression.

Naruto's chest rose and fell so quickly that it was impossible to count. The grip on Shikamaru's wrist was so tight that it threatened to cut off his proper circulation. It hurt him, but he didn't say anything, he was just looking at her reassuringly and she was more than grateful for that. The only thing Naruto could hear was the inhuman beating of her own heart and the boiling blood thumping in her ears. But nevertheless, it was her ninja instinct to read lips that helped her understand what Shika said, but she never heard it – "Hold on, Naruto".

Is this the death of me?

And then, all of a sudden, as if the time had stopped or as if someone had pressed the stop button, it all started slowing down. Naruto's breath stuck in her throat… And then she exhaled slowly as if for the first time in her whole entire life. Lids dropped shut on their own accord and her head swiped back in relief.

Naruto let go of Shika's hand, but did not miss him attempting to cover the redness that was left on his wrist with the black sleeve. It would surely leave a bruise. She wanted to apologize, but found no strength to do so.

"Che, you're so troublesome," Shikamaru said after a few moments of silence. He rubbed the back of his head in an uncaring way, but managed to sneak a look of concern towards her.

There, by the fountain, a girl lay.

And after all that, the girl reached into the thin air to caress the cheek of a man.

A man with sea-foam eyes.


	3. The Scent: Part 1

"Leave some for Gaara, you fatass!" Temari yelled and hit Kankuro with her mini fan.

"B-But he doesn't want any more," the man in a cat-like costume argued while rubbing the back of his head where a bulge would soon form, "he's been munching on the same rice ball for half an hour now!"

Gaara looked down at the half-eaten rice ball in his hand as if he was seeing it for the first time in his life. Across him, Temari was still playing the role of the big sister and continued scolding Kankuro, "That doesn't mean you have to stuff your face! What kind of-…"

"It's okay, Temari " Gaara interrupted and they both looked at him oddly. "I'm not hungry."

"But, Gaara, you should eat…"

"Here," he reached his arm out, "have mine." Kankuro looked at Temari as if asking permission. She had her arms crossed and was biting her lower lip as if fighting an internal battle.

"Fine," she sighed and looked away, "but don't expect any compassion when you start breaking the tree branches when jumping on 'em."

"Hey! I'm a man and men eat a lot!" Kankuro interrupted.

Temari shot Gaara a burning look, "And neither you, Gaara, when you turn into a bag of bones!"

Gaara, however, wasn't listening anymore. Something had been provoking him for a while, and now that same thing had rapidly increased. It's been tickling his senses, calling him, and now it had so greatly took hold of him that Gaara found himself in a trance.

That scent. He had to follow the scent. Nothing else mattered, nothing. Gaara didn't realize that he had hopped up on his feet. He didn't realize when, with a nearly crazed look upon his face, he had headed to the forest. Neither did he realize when he started running and his siblings shouted for him to stop. He jumped up, through the tall trees and dashed through the forest in the direction that was in no way leading to Konoha. did he realize it when a blast of wind to hit him from the back and he dug nails into the bark of the tree and swung himself to front of the tree to keep balance? No. Gaara started dashing through the thick forest once again.

Chakra strings wrapped around his ankle and in mid-jump, he fell to the ground. His ninja senses, despite still being under a trance, kicked in and he rolled over. Gaara was just getting up and ready to move again, when strong arms wrapped around his biceps and held him down. A roar, an angry and animalistic roar gurgled in his throat and maybe he would have broken free, if it wasn't for the ANBU that escorted them to aid Kankuro and help keep him in place. Gaara trashed and desperately tried pushing them off. The oh-so-tempting scent was calling him, waiting for him: it burned his nose and made his throat go dry, but he wanted to taste the source of the scent. He wanted to have it, to taste it, to hold it, to...

The sound of a hard slap immediately cut off the whole commotion. Gaara's cheek pulsated and his head was tilted to the side. Realization dawned on him. He had just ran what? Five miles without a single sense of his body telling him to stop. Was this his body? He looked down at his hands and inhaled. The thought of maybe Shukaku taking over his body ran through his mind, but disappeared just as quickly. He wouldn't doubt the power and effectively of Naruto's seal – Naruto…

Temari kneeled down in front of him and placed a concerned hand on his shoulder,

"What is happening to you, Gaara?" Gaara clutched his hair with shaking fingers and almost bent in two. The tempting scent still danced in his nostrils, burned his lungs, and seduced his mind... and maybe he could still reach it… before he had lost the track…

It took him a while to realize he was shaking and pulling at his hair.

"I need…" he let out in a husky whisper. Temari, who has been kneeling before him, waited.

"You need what, Gaara? Tell us." Her. He wanted her. He needed her. But he never said it. Just clenched his jaw and stood up. Gaara was used to not getting what he wanted. The Kazekage would not lose authority because of a simple whim: a whim that pulsated inside of him and made him question his sanity for not being able to resist.

And it shocked Gaara when he realized just how much he wanted to see Naruto.


	4. The Scent: Part 2

"Now that was fucking great!" Naruto beamed happily and stretched out.

"Tsk, so troublesome," said none other than Nara Shikamaru who was sitting beside the girl. He looked inside the food can he was holding, "you sure eat a lot. Are you certain you're a girl?"

"Was that some sort of a perverted suggestion, Nara?" the blonde mused and laid back at the base of а tree they had left their bags on. "Besides," she spoke as she probed her hands behind her head, "What a girl wants, a girl gets, they say."

"Girls are troublesome."

The blonde jumped and pointed a finger at him accusingly, "You're one to speak!" Then her expression became conspiratorial, her hands came up cover her wide grin. "I wouldn't say you were troubled when you were sucking-face with Temari-chan last time I came to your pl-…gyah! Dammit, what was that for!?" Shika had just thrown one of the empty metal cans at her direction. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. He gathered his things and put everything in his backpack, then left it aside.

"Let's just rest."

Shika crowed to her and she offered him a place on the orange jacket that now had the function of a blanket. Shika spread his arms and Naruto was fast to snuggle on his shoulder. There had been some unanswered question from last night's accident, but that could wait. They had been through so much together and now, as they simply lay there watching the clouds lazily crossing through the sky, it felt like the chain of their friendship was unbreakable.

"Ne, Shika," Naruto started off in a soft voice, mesmerized by the fluffy clouds above, "did I say something bad?"

Beside her, Shika sighed.

"No," he looked to the side and said as if he was admitting something unpleasant "…I guess I just miss her a little." The girl smiled.

"I'm sure you'll get to see her soon. I'm really happy for you Shika." A sad smile graced her features, "at least one of us has found love."

"Tsk, what are you talking about, Naruto?" He tried to sound carelessly, but the blonde could still sense the hidden tension in his voice, "even if Mister Perfect came on a white horse and said he wanted you, like hell I'd let him have you," said he and drew her closer.

She laughed at his unusual vigor.

"Wouldn't it be too troublesome for your lazy ass to bother?"

Shika huffed.

"I'm a genius, remember? I'll think of something."

"No need for now." She stretched her arms up in the air, "I plan on staying single or a looong time…which would probably be the rest of my life."

Shikamaru smiled, "you never know."

They lay just like that, careless, cloud-watching, and content. It was a good time.

And then, just as Shika was talking and Naruto was laughing, her voice stuck in her throat and she fell quiet.

"And he-…uh?" The boy looked down at her. "Naruto?" A strange feeling flooded him. She suddenly shot up to a sitting position and stared blankly ahead. Shika sat up too and followed her gaze, but spotted nothing. What had provoked such a reaction in the plain decor of trees and grass? "Naruto?"

He reached to touch her arm and in the matter of a millisecond, she had pushed him onto the ground roughly and pinned his hands beside his head. The girl held him in an iron grip.

"Ugh!" He grunted at the used force. "The fuck, Naruto?" And then Naruto bent down as she was sitting on his abdomen and inhaled his scent deeply: as the girl came to his head, she made a disgusted face as if she had smelled something rotten. Just as Shikamaru was about to say something, still ignoring the strange feeling in his stomach and considering this all to be just a game, the girl opened her eyes and shot a look to the side, inside the forest. It was then that Shika took notice in how animalistic her gaze was and took account of the power she was pinning him down with. Naruto was sitting on him, staring intently at the dense forest: she was not breathing, not moving, not even blinking. The girl looked like a wild cat, sneaking at its prey and ready to attack: her back was as straight as a string. Feeling puzzled but already with his brain working on full speed, Shika held his breath and waited.

And then.

Just as fast and abruptly as Naruto had pinned him down, now she disappeared from above him and, be it surprise or astonishment, it took a few moment for Shika to register the lack of weight on him.

"Shit," he immediately took off after her as he saw a flash of yellow and orange dashing through the trees. And in a completely different direction to what they were supposed to go, might he add.

The girl was fast, Shika knew it better than anyone else, but he had a trick up his sleeve.

"Shadow transporting jutsu!" the male sank into thin air only to reappear from a shadow cast by the trees a mere few feet behind the outraged girl. He'd have to do it, he knew he had no choice before him. Shika attacked the blonde with a shadow and it happened just as he had predicted – she dodged it and jumped down to the ground. If it was Naruto, he reasoned, she would've figured out I was plotting something. The thing is, I have the feeling this is not quite the Naruto I know.

Shikamaru jumped right behind her, "Kagemane no jutsu!" Shadows snaked to Naruto and pinned her in place. She roared, she trashed, she struggled.

"Tch, you're making it so troublesome, Naruto," Shika hissed as he fought to gain full control. He had her walk to a tree and then on the male's command they both fell to their knees. Slowly but surely, Shika crawled to her and pressed to her from behind. "It's okay, Naruto, it's okay," he tried silencing her as the blonde kept roaring.

The male was searching for a chakra-suppressing tag when, all of a sudden, Naruto slipped out of his jutsu's control and kicked him roughly off of her. Cussing under his breath, Shikamaru pulled himself together and took off once again. There was one general problem, though. The forest area was about to end.

That meant that his source of shading would come to an end.

And without his shadows, he was nearly defenseless.

Naruto ran like a wild animal, jumping over stones and kicking away trees. It was too soon to guess and right now he had other things on his hands, but if it was up to Shika, he was nearly sure the Kyuubi had taken over. Which meant he had to act. Fast.

A broad meadow lay ahead with not a single cast of shadow on it and Shika had only seconds before he was stripped off of his chances of retrieving the girl. Forming the hand seals, just as Naruto jumped out in the broad space of the sunny meadow, Shikamaru shouted,

"Shadow Sewing Technique!"

Shadow tentacles reached out and wrapped around the blonde's ankle. She fell and hit her head on a stone.

And then Naruto lost consciousness.


	5. Even Angels Have Their Evil Schemes

Warm hands with slender fingers traveled along her backside and left nothing but burning flesh and anticipation in their way. Hot breath ghosted along the column of her neck and strong hands wrapped around the breathless torso, making every cell in her body twitch and writhe in desire.

"Do you want me to touch you?" A deep voice whispered in her ear and bit the shell seductively. Naruto was on fire, she was burning, she was being tortured slowly and painfully. She has never been surer about anything in her entire life.

"Yes," the girl breathed out and leaned against the body as she reached up a trembling hand and buried shaky fingers in the mop of hair.

The mop of messy red hair.

The blonde could feel the man's lips curling upwards against her neck, "where do you want me to touch you?" the deep voice made goose bumps appear along the girl's trembling body: she was completely left on the man's will.

"Everywhere" the girl breathed with lidded eyes and felt herself melting in this heat – the heat of the man with red hair.

His smile stretched wider against her neck and the hot breath traveled up and towards her ear "come to me then" he whispered and his strong arms held her tighter, and tighter, clutching her, crushing her, then something sharp – his nails – dug hard along her abdomen and split the flesh wide open.

Naruto's eyes shot open and she held her breath. Despite the jolt of sharp pain that shot through her body at the action, she looked around. Tap. Tap. Tap. The familiar sound of sandals hitting the thick bark of the trees filled her ears. The rhythmic and monotone sound seemed to somewhat calm her and she released a shaky breath when she realized she was dashing trough the forest. And, as she took in account a millisecond later, she was on Shikamaru's back.

"Huh?" Shika spun his head around to look at her and a mop of lazily tied up hair brushed her face and, if it wasn't for her still thumping heart and shock, the girl would have wrinkled her nose. The male stopped on the next tree branch with a dull thud and helped her slide off of his back. The moment Naruto stepped on her legs, they gave out. Shika caught her in the last moment and she softly bumped her back against the tree.

"Naruto? Are you…all…" Shika watched as the girl hastily lifted her jacket and the shirt underneath, and frantically fell about the sun-kissed abdomen. There was nothing inappropriate about the scene, but Shika had the urge to look away until he heard her sigh in relief. The girl leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes. She couldn't quite remember her dream: blurry images danced before her closed lids and slurred whispers echoed in her ears, but the feel, the sensation was more than alive. So was the pain that overcame her when his claws ripped her flesh open…

Was he…the man in her dream…was he…

Gaara?

Her heart skipped a beat and she lolled forward. Familiar and oh-so-torturing heat licked her torso from the inside and started spreading along her body. Her hair fell loose in front of her face as she supported herself on shaky hands.

"We need to find out what's going on, Naruto. And you need to rest." Shikamaru was immediately by her side and put a hand on her shoulder to push her back. She didn't move though, and the boy recalled with rising fear how she had held him down with an iron grip. He straightened his back and reached for a kunai.

"Konoha…" nothing but a whisper was heard behind the veil of unruly golden locks. "Konoha…I need to go to Konoha…" Shikamaru knew Naruto and Naruto's voice was definitely not that deep. The girl's shoulders trembled and a deep chuckle rose from her throat. And then Shikamaru saw it. Nothing more but a few uncovered inches of her face made him freeze: a pink tongue licking long, sharp canines as the barely audible deep chuckle shook her body.

Shikamaru pulled out a kunai. Naruto stood up.

And to his surprise, instead of attacking him, as he, frankly, thought she would, she reached and took her backpack.

"Geez, Shikamaru, are you going to sit and laze around whole day? How much more have we got until we reach Konoha?" The girl asked annoyed and tied her hair up. Then she grinned. And, questioning his sanity and eyesight, the male noted her shiny teeth…with no sight of long and sharp canines, whatsoever. Shikamaru blinked.

Naruto bent to the still sitting boy and waved a hand before his eyes, "Helloooo, stop spacing out, you lazy ass, and let's go back home. I'm tired of this damned forest."

Shika furrowed and came up and onto his legs, "I went back to get our things and then carried you while you were out for a few hours." Shika said as he adjusted his backpack where it belonged. He wanted to see her reaction at his allusive tone.

She turned her back to him and made a few hard steps on the steady branch. "How. Far. Away. From. Konoha." She repeated in a low and menacing voice. His suspicions were confirmed and his heart swelled.

The girl before him, by no means, was the Uzumaki Naruto he knew.

Not entirely, that is.

He sighed and put the kunai away. She wasn't causing trouble. For now. "We're probably a day away."

She abruptly looked at him and smiled her usual stupid smile, "perfect." Then she made a sign for him to follow, "come on. Let's get out of here."

She jumped and Shikamaru followed her. He kept an eye on her and if he wasn't so busy analyzing and thinking about what the fuck was going on and how to handle it, he might have heard the girl whisper, "I'm coming to you."

He might have even noticed her animalistic gaze and trembling lips, holding back crazed-out laughter and hiding deadly canines.

"Kankuro-sama, Temari-sama," the leader of the medic-nins traveling with them addressed them, "aside from the high temperature of his body, which is gradually falling, we could find nothing wrong with the young Kazekage."

"Aah. Thank you." The nin bowed and went off. Temari and Kankuro exchanged gazes, then looked at their little brother, who was leaning against the stalk of a massive tree with a wet cloth on his forehead. They went and kneeled by him.

"Gaara," Temari started with a hard voice, "you're hiding somet-"

"I'm not fucking hiding anything!" Gaara shouted and jumped up, throwing the cloth away. "Can't you see that I know as much as you do?" His sister's expression softened as she, too, stood up, followed by Kankuro.

"Do you think that maybe the seal could have loosened and messed with your head?"

"No." I'm sure of Naruto's seal, he wanted to add, but his body started burning at the thought of her again. He clenched his teeth and spun around on his heels. Placing his right palm on the bark of the tree, he dug his nails and curled his fingers, leaving claw marks.

"Konoha…" he uttered.

"Gaara…"

"I need to get to Konoha as fast as possible," his mind spoke for him.

"Uhh…Gaara?" Kankuro sounded unsure and suspicious.

He was deaf to their calls. Excitement and anticipation bubbled inside of the young Kazekage and a sinister smile that the boy was unaware of stretched on his face. She was there. He knew he'd find her there. In Konoha.

"Gaara!" The boy snapped back to reality when Kankuro gripped his shoulder tightly and spun him around. The sinister smile that spoke of his secret plans was gone and, what was more interesting, Gaara didn't even remember it. His older brother was but an inch shorter than him and looked him dead in the eyes, appraisingly, suspiciously, still gripping his shoulders.

"Don't be stupid, Kankuro," Gaara brushed his hand away with his usual stoic façade on. "I clearly need an experienced medical check. And who is a better medic-nin and more experienced than Tsunade-sama?"

That night, as many, many nights before, Gaara couldn't fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking how she, who he had clearly tried to kill, had cried for him, his enemy so many years ago. He couldn't escape the memory how, barely alive after the Akatsuki had kidnapped him, she had come to save him. The blurry memory of when he had opened his eyes and saw her teary, but happy eyes, and how he had heard her call for him in desperation, was his last memory of her. He had passed out due to his exhaustion, but later he was told about what she did for him and found out that she had made a seal that would let Shukaku's chakra mix with his own as time passed.

And it's been more than two years since then.

Gaara got up soundlessly and walked through the moonlit forest with slow steps. An owl hooted in the distance and it was like the sound triggered past regrets inside the man. He had tried to kill her. She probably hated him. Why would she save him them, he asked himself? It was probably her mission. She was a shinobi, shinobi did what they were told. They were weapons. Why did she cry then? They had told him how she had screamed about the unfairness and cruelty of being a jinchuuriki. She probably pitied him. And hated him.

He knew he deserved it.

And yet, his heart swelled at the thought and he clutched his chest. That blurry memory of her triggered more feelings that all of the love letters he had ever recieved from any other girl. Gaara came to the bank of the river that was silently flowing in the cool night. The ruble spiked his bear feet and it was as if even the little sharp stones wanted punishment for his deeds. Guilt ate at him and he bit his lip – something he never did in front of people – and stepped into the cold water. It calmed him and he liked to think that it somehow washed his sins away.

Then he looked up to the moon: the same moon he had stared blankly at for so many sleepless nights. The moon meant loneliness. Darkness. Sadness.

Gaara looked down at the clear water. It felt hotter than just moment ago. The river seemed to flow faster, as if wanting to take him somewhere. He looked up to where the river meandered through the valley, accompanied with miles of thick forest on both sides.

Maybe it was time for sun to shine for Gaara and drive away the evil moon.

Maybe.

But for now, Gaara just stepped out of the water.

Shikamaru sat up abruptly. Damn it, he had dozed off! He tsked and cursed loudly when he saw the empty and disarray sleeping bag. The moon lit his way as the male ran off towards the river bank – he could feel chakra gathering there and, with no doubt in his mind, he knew that Naruto was there.

It wasn't far away and it wasn't long before Shika reached the bank. The ruble rolled underneath his sandals that he had intentionally left on and he steadied himself. There, in the middle of the river, stood Naruto with her back to him, her long blonde hair cascading in mad waterfalls down her back, her slender figure lined out by the silky moon light. She was staring up. At the moon.

And then as if on slow motion, the girl spun her head around easily, not a single other muscle trembling at the action. Shika was ninja, an assassin, he had seen death and gore. And yet he remembered that one moment years after that: the way her neck twisted unnaturally to reveal her face where two crimson orbs shone in the dim light and the most sinister, the most demonic and menacing smile split her otherwise beautiful and affable features.

This wasn't Naruto.

This was the demon inside of her.

Shika breathed in abruptly. It was then that time started flowing again and the rest of her body came into view. Hands with long claws rested by her thighs. Apart from her usual orange shorts, she had only fishnet cloth wrapped around her breasts. The seal on her abdomen was visible.

And it was burning.

Just as the male was thinking through his plan, not that he really knew how to deal with that sort of thing, the seal's glowing faded away and the girl's stretched lips eased off. She lolled back with lidded eyes, but then caught herself and rubbed her forehead. Shika walked slowly to the water.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up at him. "Shika." She smiled the most genuine smile in full contrast to the one literally ripping her features mere moments ago. The male stepped into the water and went by her side. It was his Naruto again, he knew her by the smile.

Naruto looked up once again, "the moon is very beautiful tonight, ne, Shika?"

Shika nodded and stared at her with the corner of his eye. What was the most scary was not that his best friend housed a demon that apparently took over her.

It was the fact that she obviously didn't recall it happening.

And as Shika offered for them to go back to sleep and led her out of the water, it didn't escape his notice how her gaze lingered down the river. She then frowned and followed him back to their improvised camp.


	6. When The World Collide...

It was the day after that the travelers from Suna made it to Konoha. there, the Hokage awaited them at the main gate and a large crowd had come to greet them, and especially the widely-known Kazekage.

"Ah, Kazekage. Welcome to Konoha."

"I'm glad to be here, Tsunade-sama," Gaara greeted back and instead of shaking the woman's extended hand, he took it and leaned down to kiss it.

"Ha," the Hokage snorted, "when did you become such a gentleman, you gaki?"

"I'm a fast learner."

Tsunade smiled.

"Well then, I'll show you to your rooms," Gaara walked after the woman and everyone else followed. The crowd was big, girls were screaming and shinobi were nodding at him approvingly, some stepped forward to shake hands with him. Gaara looked around carefully as he followed Tsunade.

He frowned.

There was no sign of Naruto.

"Oi, Shikaaaa!"

Naruto shook the snoring male and he jumped up from his sleeping bag. The girl stared at his morning hair for a moment, then boomed with loud laughter. Her wide smile made Shika's blood freeze for an instant as he recalled last night's events.

"You should see yourself!" she pointed at him, then flicked his messy ponytail, and a new set of convulsing laughter made her hold her stomach. "You manage to amaze me every single time," said the girl, wiping her eyes and standing up, "come on, sleeping beauty, we've gotta go back to Konoha, remember?" Naruto tightened her tied up hair and walked off to pack up.

The male got up and started rolling up his sleeping bag, "aren't you tired?" he asked.

"No, why? I shlept jlike a bhaby," the girl answered with her mouth full of onigiri and Shika almost sweat-dropped. She handed him one, grinning.

"Uhh, no, thanks. I'm not hungry."

"More for me then!" the girl chimed happily and stuffed her face.

"Why is it such a rush for you to go home anyway?" Shika asked cautiously and watched for her reaction with the corner of his eye as he zipped up his backpack. The girl seemed taken aback. She then shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I just miss the village and everyone, you know." Naruto continued munching happily on the rise balls. Shika frowned.

Somehow, this wasn't a good enough and believable answer.

"I'm going to the river for a bit," he informed the girl and sneaked a scroll under his jacket.

Shika snaked a hand inside the inner pocket of his jacket. Placing the paper tag he had just drawn out on the wet rubble, he looked around to be sure he wasn't being watched. Then, he performed the simple hand signs for this jutsu and poured chakra in the tag. The black characters depicted on it merged together and swirled to become a swirling black hole in the ground. Rolling up the scroll that he had just finished writing, he was ready to send it through the seal. Shika pressed his lips together – it felt like he was betraying Naruto, but he had no choice. He had to report. He had to warn the Hokage as to what was going on with the girl so that the woman would be ready to take action when they go back to Konoha.

Hit by a sudden feeling of being watched, Shika turned around.

"I didn't know we had to report to Tsunade-baa-chan today," Shika heard the girl say in a pretended surprised voice and looked up to see her jump off a tree behind him. The rubble cracked beneath Naruto's feet and she leaned against the tree with her arms crossed.

"I…" Shika swallowed, suddenly nervous, "I thought it was in place to warn the Hokage that we'll be coming back sooner than expected."

"Oh? And why would Tsunade-baa-chan want to know that?" Naruto pushed herself off of the tree and walked to kneel next to the male, "You know how busy she always is, why would you bother her with such unneeded information? All she needs to know is that our mission was a success, ne, Shika?" her blue eyes were distant and menacing, her voice held an unspoken threat.

She leaned in closer, "or could it be…that you're reporting something else?"

Shika's heart raced and he tried to give himself an uncaring expression as he looked away, "tsk, what are you talking about, Naruto? Now that you've said it, there's really no reason for me to report." the boy tried to sound bored, but as he reached to cancel the jutsu and tear the tag off the ground, he thought wildly of a way to beat around the bush and somehow report. However, he could feel Naruto's intense gaze on him. There was no way out of it. He curled his fingers around the corner of the tag and pulled it. The jutsu was canceled. Shikamaru felt like being beaten in his own game.

Naruto reached and curled her fingers around the scroll in his hand with a calm smile, "I'm glad we smoothed that, Shika," she chimed and as she held the scroll, the paper darkened and then turned to ashes, which the wind gust blew away. Naruto stood up and brushed off the remaining ashes from her clothes,

"Now let's head for Konoha." She stood up and walked off.

As Shikamaru followed her, he thought that the girl had lived to the description of being "troublesome". Now she had advanced to the next level.

A few levels higher, actually.

Now, she was life-threatening.

And Shika had the unpleasant feeling that there were higher levels for Naruto to advance to.

"You can rest here for now. We'll meet later, Kazekage, Temari-san, Kankuro-san." Tsunade nodded at them and turned around to walk away, leaving the three in front of their respective rooms in the Hokage tower.

"Hokage-sama," called Kankuro and locked eyes with Gaara, silently saying if you don't tell her, I will.

"What is it?" the blond woman asked with both hands on her hips.

Gaara furrowed his brows at Kankuro. He was going to tell her without his prompting and stupid threats.

"I've got a problem, Hokage, that I'd wish to get your opinion on," said Gaara in his usual husky voice and the woman stared him down.

"Very well." Tsunade spun on her heels, "follow me."

The Hokage led them to an unoccupied office, as it seemed, judging by the dusty desk and the stagnant air. The woman gestured for Gaara to sit on the wooden chair that rested before the desk.

"You might want to give your brother some privacy," Tsunade suggested to the other two as she rolled up her sleeves.

"It's okay," muttered Gaara and unbuttoned his blood-red cloak to take off the black shirt that hugged his slender torso underneath. As the male sat down on the hard chair, green light glowed off the Hokage's hands and slowly traveled along the male's naked back. The feeling was warm and relaxing. Gaara's lids weighed down and his vision blurred.

The outline of plump lips set on a blank face appeared before him and he couldn't help but drag a curious thump along them, marveling at the softness of the flesh. He wondered how they tasted and how they would feel against his own set of lips. An equally pink tongue's tip slipped from between the soft lips and licked the man's thump. Gaara felt its tickling roughness and slickness.

The lips he had so blindly admired now stretched into a wide grin with sharp canines adoring it: the teeth parted and clapped down on his finger.

Gaara's eyes shot open and he immediately looked down at his own hands. All was in place. The man exhaled as he tried to control his frantic heartbeat. The Hokage was still conducting her check-up. After a minute or so, she stepped back and the soothing green light died out. The woman went to the dusty desk and sat down on the chair.

"Well?" Gaara asked as the woman said nothing. She had her fingers entwined and was staring at him.

She then sighed and leaned back, "you're in perfect condition."

"What?" Kankuro almost shouted, "No, Hokage-sama, that can't be, you should've seen him, he was absolutely mad crazy!"

"But I haven't. And right now, your brother is in more than perfect condition. I can't detect any illness or damage on his body whatsoever."

Gaara didn't listen to them. The dream he just had was still before his eyes.

"Kazekage?" Tsunade addressed him and the man looked up. "I asked for how long you've been having those "heat attacks", as you call them."

"For about two weeks."

"I see," she leaned back.

A squeal made the male looked to the side, "Oh, Gaara, why didn't you tell us?" Gaara didn't answer. Temari reached and wrapped her fingers around his hand, "It's okay to ask for help, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"I didn't want to bother you…"

The girl looked hurt, "oh, Gaara…"

"You used to be the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, correct?" Tsunade butted in.

"Yes, and about three years ago his chakra started mixing with my own. And now that Shukaku's gone, his chakra is all that's left of him."

"I see," the woman said thoughtfully.

"What if it's because of the seal?" Temari asked.

Tsunade snorted, "I couldn't possibly know, I'm not an expert on-"

"Where's Naruto?" Gaara let out the question so abruptly that the others got the feeling he'd been holding the it for long. Tsunade blinked at the sudden desire of the Kazekage to know the whereabouts of the loudmouth she held so dear.

"She's out on a mission. We'll have someone else check your seal, if she doesn't come back before your next attack, if there is such."

"No."

"No?"

"No one else. It's gotta be her." Gaara stared blankly ahead and gripped the armrests of the chair so hard that his knuckled went white.

"I see," the woman murmured thoughtfully. "Well then," she got up, "you should rest." She walked to the door and wrapped slender fingers around the doorknob. "Kazekage?" Gaara looked up at her.

"Why did your heart start thumping so suddenly?"

"Please sign here as well, Nara-san.," Shikamaru was currently registering their returning at Konoha's main gate – a chore that every shinobi had to go through when taking off for a mission or coming back from such. "Very well, now for Uzumaki-san to…sign…" the guard trailed off and leaned over the counter to look as the blonde girl walked off in a slow pace, dragging her feet.

"She'll sign later, she's not feeling well," said Shika as he handing the guard the documents and ran off to catch up to Naruto. The girl was walking in small steps and was staring at the Hokage tower with a hypnotized gaze. Shika furrowed his eyebrows – Naruto was acting suspicious again and could be a possible threat to anyone that happened to be near.

"Hey, Naru, how about I take you home so you could take a shower and rest, then I'm gonna come back and give the report? You don't have to worry." The two were nearing the entrence of the tower where various shinobi walked in and out and even more civilians walked along the street, sure that their lives were in safe hands.

"No, I can give it myself," the girl said without looking at him. They stepped into the building.

Shika pressed his lips together, "you need to come with me Naruto!" He reached to grab her wrist, but touching it, the skin burned him and he instinctively let her go. In the blink of an eye, the girl was already at the top of the stairs and turned left to walk down the round hallway, exactly where Tsunade's office was. A low chuckle lingered after the girl.

"Naruto!" Shika drew out a chakra suppressing tag and ran after her. He climbed the stairs wiyh two wide strides and when he looked down the hallway, she was gone.

"Say, Shika," the male almost jumped and turned around to see Naruto leaning against the wall with crossed arms. Golden bangs were covering the girl's face, but not enough to hide her blue eyes. She stepped forward. It's not too late yet, Shika thought and gripped the tag tighter behind his back, almost scrunching the paper "are you trying to make me stay away from him?"

Him?

Shikamaru didn't answer.

The girl stepped closer, "I know what you were trying to do earlier at the river…Ne, Shika…did you know?" the girl leaned against him, her palms rested on his chest, as her breath ghosted up to his ear, "…your heart starts beating faster when you lie," she whispered and now, Shika knew, it was already too late.

Just as the last word was leaving Naruto's lips, Shika slung his arm around to place the tag on her back in an attempt to withhold her, the place where her hands rested on his chest burned and an immense impact sent the male flying back to the wall, knocking the very wind our of him and blurring his vision, making his head spin and thump like mad. He couldn't keep balance, so he slid to the ground on his side. With unfocused vision and nearly suffocating for air, Shika caught a glimpse of Naruto's sandals as she spun around on her heels. He heard a deep chuckle and the faint echoes of her sandals as she ran down the hallway.

Gaara was just putting his black shirt back on. His siblings were discussing something, probably the check-up that had just taken place, but he had long ago decided to ignore them. Strange anticipation was bubbling in his chest.

Rolling the shirt down to his waist, he already knew what it was caused by. The male froze right into place and stared down at his feet, his hands letting go of the fabric and hanging loosely by his sides. However, Gaara knew, he was stronger than ever.

Because she was here.

She had come back, her scent was growing stronger, more appealing, more seductive, she was calling for him, she was coming to him.

"Gaara?" the tension caught his siblings' attention and when Gaara obviously didn't hear them, they didn't know it was already too late. The male looked up at the door, blood-red bangs covering his eyes and his jaw was clenched firmly – now they knew it was already too late.

Just as Temari reached for her fan and Kankuro – for his puppet, Gaara flew running past them, pushed the door with his palm, sending it flying off its hinges. The massive wooden door hit the wall behind with a loud thud, cracking to pieces.

And then, just as Gaara ran past the Hokage, making her hair and robes swish, just as Temari and Kankuro ran through the hole in the wall that was left, just as Shika forced all of his willpower to stay awake despite the need for oxygen, Naruto spun right around the corner: her sandals were still sliding on the floor from the speed she had run with, her hair swished from the abrupt turn, their eyes locked.

The time stopped: here they were, Gaara in mid-step, grabbing Naruto by both sides of her torso and lifting her up, her hair spilled in a million golden locks as she held his forearms, two masterpieces of sinister smiles stretching their features as their noses almost touched and breaths mixed together. It was like an intense source of chakra exploded, and its shock wave made time start flowing again – Gaara slammed Naruto against the wall behind so hard that it made pieces of the wall crumble down, a round crater with various rifts formed, and the walls vibrated. They slammed their lips together, locked them, and finally understood this burning heat, this need, this desire. They kissed like mad in the midst of all hell breaking loose: she wrapped her legs around his waist, he clawed at her clothes and rocked against her, slid his hands down her sides. There were screams around them, there was chaos. For them, however, it was perfect. The girl's head lolled back and Gaara bit at her collarbone, marking her, hard enough to draw blood. The girl let out a screaming moan and pulled at his hair, then dragged her nails down the back of his neck...

Suddenly, Gaara was pulled back and held down forcefully, his hands tied tightly behind his back with chakra strings. He roared and struggled, he trashed, he kicked and sought escape, until he heard a scream that stood above the whole uproar.

He froze and looked with wide eyes as the blonde girl slid against the crumbled wall, holding her collarbone where he had bitten her. The girl collided with the ground and her blue orbs rolled to the back of her head, as her body lay there unmoving.

What have I done, was Gaara's only thought.


	7. ...Into Themselves

What have I done? … Gaara watched in slow motion, cheek and chest pressed to the cold hard floor as he was being held down rather hesitantly. Shinobi ran in every direction possible, someone was shouting orders, someone else was screaming for help and other was cussing. The chaos itself had unfolded.

The Hokage ran to the blonde girl on the floor, fear and concern written on her face. She held her face surprisingly gently but clumsily calling her name. Tsunade shook her then checked her pulse. The woman looked frightened.

Blonde hair swished and lifeless arms hung by as Naruto was carried down the hall. Probably to the Hokage's personal cabinet. The rushed clicking of heels against the stone floor stopped and Tsunade stood before Gaara. His cheek was pressed onto the cold stone, guards still held him, although loosely. They wouldn't dare be rough with a Kage. It might turn against them. The man was pale and his expression was void. His eyes… were like a whole village with all its people was closed into glass bubbles and was screaming for help before the burning fire of hell itself breaks loose and having nowhere to run.

The woman seemed uncertain. She made a sign for the guards to let him and she, too, walked down the round hall.

Gaara slowly, even unknowingly, sat up kneeling.

He felt like he was underwater and had stayed without air for far too long.

He looked down at his hands then stared back to where they had taken the girl.

"What have I done", he whispered this time.

Gaara splattered cold water on his face and refused to look in the mirror. He wouldn't recognize the man there anymore. Losing composure, attacking people, hurting Naruto – Naruto… Just what had happened? He touched his lips. It had felt, unlike many things in his life, right. Perfect. And then there was this ugly tearing feeling nestled deep inside of him, eating at him, infuriating his previous guilt. It's already been an hour… it couldn't have been two or three even, could it? How long has he stayed locked inside that bathroom… Felt like weeks. He didn't want to go outside.

Why, why, oh why have things gone so wrong? How was he supposed to face her now, just when he-

"Come on, little bro, you have to get out some when, you know that. Can't stay in there forever!" No answer followed. Gaara ignored the muffled voice. "Look, I don't what happened and by the looks of it neither do you. Yeah, you fucked up. But as long as you keep yourself locked in there, you sure as hell ain't gonna fix anything. I kno-"

"Spare me your life prophesies and philosophies, Kankuro" Gaara interrupted in his stern voice and exited the small bathroom. The redhead awkwardly shifted his pale gaze from his brother and went to his gourd, carefully propped up by the awful brown couch. Lean fingers played with the straps and the young Kazekage didn't want to look or talk to the man behind. His brows were furrowed and the occasional bite graced his soft lips – a rare habit.

Kankuro scratched his messy head,

"Look, little bro, you're probably embarrassed by … what you… did with this girl… I mean, it was kinda hot but it was in front of everyone and, you kn-"

"Did she wake up?" Gaara interrupted again, unintentionally letting genuine emotions and affection lace his otherwise rigorous deep voice.

Kankuro seemed taken aback. Was his brother…concerned? Not just embarrassed as he thought he'd be?

"N-… Uuh, no," he cleared his throat "No. Tsunade-sama is with her. She asked about you – told her you needed some time alone."

"Is N-" guilt surged through him and made him bite his tongue. He couldn't say her name evev. "Is… she going to be fine?" Gaara asked in a silent whisper. The lean fingers playing with the strap of his gourd stopped and he timidly waited for the response.

The older man sighed. "She can't tell."

Kankuro was silent. He stared at his little brother's back with faint surprise and thoughtfulness. At the answer, the boy clenched the strap and lowered his head. This is the weakest he'd ever seen his little brother… even when he didn't dare call the boy so.

This weakness… this unfeigned and genuine concern made him look… well, human, and it was scary just how much of the calm and powerful Kazekage was a mask.

Kankuro stepped closer, "why don't you go see her?"

"I can't," light shake of the head.

"Why not?" the older brother tried placing a hand on the man's shoulder, but the other shifted his stance, not welcoming signs of affection at the moment. Kankuro tsked. He was being too hasty. It was the mask again.

"Look, Gaara. She went berserk too. It's not all your fault, you know. Sure, you two... kissed, which was totally weird-"

"It wasn't just a kiss."

"Yeah, exactly, it was more of a berserk make out," Kankuro scratched his head awkwardly remembering his stoic little brother roaming viciously the girl's body, thrusting brutally against her and, oh god, the way they kissed, how they fucking kissed, for god's sake! The man blushed madly and clicked his tongue. "The point, little bro, is that she attacked someone as well, hell, she almost sent the poor guy into a coma and-" at the menacing gaze that Gaara directed at him, he chocked on his words. Heavy silence hung in the room as Gaara shifted his intense gaze to the wall ahead.

"Kankuro… Do you think she hates me now?" came the silent question in a voice so fragile and child-like that Kankuro blinked. Just who was this girl to make this so powerful and composed man sound like he's about to break any moment now?

The older man tried to shrug off the question and sound positive and assuring, "of course not," but ended up only sounding pretended and nervous.

Gaara turned around hesitantly, but still didn't lock eyes with his brother, "I care about her." He looked away again.

"I know." Kankuro smiled gently. He felt his little brother closer than ever. Kankuro was a ladies man, but he knew about feelings. "Come. I'll take you to the Hokage's cabinet. She's there."

"I know where she is. You go… I'll come by later." Under the heavy doubtful gaze of his brother, Gaara added, "I will," and finally locked eyes with the other man. The sternness he ruled a whole village with was back, although still tinted with buried emotions, genuine revelations and fears.

Oh, the fear.

Kankuro nodded and went for the door.

"Kankuro," the latter stopped and turned to look back at Gaara who was staring outside the window. He saw him clench his fists in uncertainty.

"… Thank you…brother."

Oh, the fear.

"Damn brat, always causing trouble, dammit!" murmured the Hokage, but the concern in her voice was audible. And visible on her face. She had tried everything, done anything she could. The little brat continued just lying there! Barely breathing, not even an eyelash fluttering. If it wasn't for the shallow breathing she would look absolutely dead… And if this all was what she thought it was…

The Hokage bit her thumbnail.

"God dammit, I need the Kazekage to be sure!" she stated more to herself than to the other people in the room and shot for the door with furrowed brows and a determined expression.

"He said he'd come on his own!" almost shouted Kankuro and stood in her way to the door. The woman pushed him away with surprising strength, "I don't have time to wait for him to think about the meaning of life and brood whole day while the gaki is lying there unconscious almost four hours already!" Tsunade went to open the furious, "if that little red-headed brat thin-… Kazekage!" Tsunade opened the door only to come to the view of said male just standing there.

"Gaara…" Kankuro threw the unconscious girl a look and then stared back at his brother, suddenly understanding and processing the boy's feelings about coming here.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked the Hokage incredulously and just a bit suspiciously.

"A while."

Tsunade stepped away from the door and Gaara came in slowly, not looking at anyone, not even Naruto. Heavy silence hung around.

"How are you feeling?"

"…Better."

The woman nodded. Gaara finally sneaked a look at the insensate blonde girl and the sudden bite on his lower lip did not go unnoticed.

"Is she going to be fine?" he asked, not looking away from the blonde. Tsunade furrowed her elegant eyebrows. She couldn't help but somewhat, be it unintentionally, blame the young man for the girl's current state. The Hokage exhaled heavily and threw her hands in defeat, "I don't know." The woman tapped angrily with her high heels to the same ugly brown couch the girl was placed on and brushed off a strand of golden hair from the blonde's face, "I tried everything. All my knowledge, I used it all." She cupped the girl's sun-kissed cheek, "I did everything I could to help her."

The oh-so-known heavy silence nestled once again.

They couldn't help her? The greatest medic-nin of their time, of the history known to shinobi, couldn't heal her? Couldn't unmake his mistake? His sudden insanity?

What has he done?

Oh, the fear! The fear that consumes you, the fear that spreads through your every nerve and cell, the fear of knowing you are the one responsible, the fear of the truth.

Oh, the tightened throat.

Oh, the beating heart, thump-thump-thump-thump, and ice-cold sweat.

Oh the panic, the fright. The uncertainty, oh the consuming horror - like flames, licking and kissing your skin lustfully just before burning and scarring it forever.

Oh, human emotions.

And oh, poor Gaara's fragile little heart.

Gaara had been having this urge, like an insight when you know you have to do something, you just know it, but different from the heat before.

And just as Tsunade was caressing Naruto's cheek, just as Kankuro was standing there and Shizune awaited orders, just as Shikamaru, who was in the room as well, and even after being injured was reading through scrolls and spacing off, just as the guards stood silently and unnoticeably in the corners of the room and outside the door… time stopped… and just then, Gaara's urge intensified. It struck him and put him down on his knees.

The young man clenched his fists. He made the determined steps to the couch Naruto was lying on, eyes wide, lips parted, so caught up in the moment that he pushed the Hokage away roughly who had stood in front of him, hands spread, not letting him lean to the girl, guarding Naruto from him as she felt the sudden change in the man's demeanor. Tsunade didn't let him anywhere near Naruto. Not with that crazed-out gaze. Not with anything.

"Hokage… Tsunade-sama… please," the young man let out. Pleading.

The woman thought for a moment… then tentatively and cautiously stepped away. She still had her eye on him. He sat down carefully and leaned in to caress the blonde's cheek. She looked so peaceful. She was absolutely beautiful.

Where was all this coming from?

Something was making him do this. Guiding him.

Gaara leaned in and breathed onto the place he had bitten her collarbone – something he had a vague remembrance of. Like the whole thing. Then a lean finger traced the skin gently.

A red mark with complex characters and signs appeared on the touched spot. It resembled a seal being formed, just like when you seal a contract and pour your blood on it. And it faded away just as quickly. The man slowly cupped her cheek and looked at her. He could feel her shallow breath, inches away from her calm face.

What did that mean? Gaara himself did not know, let alone anyone else in the room who were there silent, waiting.

So Gaara waited as well.

Nothing happened.

The Hokage grew even angrier and pulled him back by the shoulder offhandedly. She was outraged. She was going to kill him.

Oh, the fe-

Just then though, Naruto breathed in deeply and all fell silent. Heavy lids parted slowly. Tsunade's hand fell from the man's shoulder in surprise as she stared, holding her breath. Naruto's blurry vision allowed her to see only a haze of red hair, pale skin, teal eyes… such beautiful eyes…

She shot forward and sat up.

Her head was spinning. Surprise in her eyes. The nice kind of surprise.

"Gaara…" she whispered and cupped his cheek not believing she was seeing the man so unexpectedly after what, three years? Why was he here?

Wait, where was here, where the hell was she?

Suddenly, sparse images and a ball of sensations of Gaara's lips moving roughly and demandingly against hers and strong arms shamelessly grabbing her whole body flooded her mind… and oh god, how that made her feel.

She just stared at him, inches away, surprise and confusion had just been joined by embarrassment and flushed cheeks. Naruto looked away and Gaara stood up, turning his back to her and stepping away to the window. Tsunade leaned in and took the girl into a rare hug. Naruto was seemingly confused, she kept looking to and away from Gaara's back.

"Tsunade-baa-chan? Uuh, what happened?" Then she reached to touch her collarbone. Gaara observed with the corner of his eye. The girl seemed confused by her own action as there wasn't anything there. It didn't even hurt there. She shrugged it off.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru rushed and sat on the couch next to her much too energetic for his lazy persona. His head was bandaged, his sandals were rolled down to let injuries on his legs and knees heal and more bandages peaked out of his loose black shirt and across his chest where he was burned. "Oi, you all right?"

Naruto looked at him and his bandages dumbfounded. "Shika! What-"

And then she remembered.

It was like the girl was watching the scene from afar: a shinobi turning against their friend and attacking them suddenly. It was surreal. Soft rosy lips parted. She couldn't believe it had been her! Shikamaru was her best friend in the whole wide world, she owned him so much! How could she have possible hurt him? Naruto felt dizzy. She was short on air. Shikamaru furrowed his elegant eyebrows in concern. The blonde clutched her head and frantic murmurs left her lips as she rocked back and forward and wouldn't look at him.

"Hey, hey, hey, Naru," Shika gripped her arms and with a bit of a struggle managed to make her let go of her golden locks. "Hey, look at me," he lifted her chin gently, "it's okay." Naruto looked up at him with broken blue eyes. She reminded of a guilty little child about to cry. "Tsk, come here," and he pulled her to his chest. The girl tried pushing back but he held her tight and caressed her golden hair, "you're so troublesome. It's okay, Naru."

"No, it's not," came a muffled reply and the girl clutched his black shirt, "I hurt you and I don't even know why… and all these other people, are they all right?" she sniffed and Shikamaru brought her closer.

"That's what we're trying to find out, gaki," Tsunade butted in with unusual tenderness in her voice. The woman stepped closer and sat down on the couch as well, "and don't worry. Everyone will be just fine. And now that you're finally awake, I'll have to run some examinations on both you and the Kazekage here." Naruto looked over to Gaara hesitantly and saw him just nod in reply, still looking out the window. Somehow, the man knew when she was going to look over at him. He had just averted his gaze after witnessing the whole scene and was gripping the ledge of the window a bit too tight.

Naruto pushed back from Shika gently careful not to hurt him any more, "Okay," she let out, "when can I go home?"

"You're not going home, gaki. You're not allowed."

"Uuh?!" Naruto looked at Tsunade incredulously and suddenly had much of her usual cheerful demeanor back. "What do you mean I can't go home?"

Tsunade shot up and clenched her fist, "You goddamn gaki, don't make me repeat myself!"

"But I want home!"

Shika chuckled observing the familiar scene and crossed arms behind his head. A vane pulsated on Tsunade's forehead and she swayed her fist, "You snotty brat, don't question your leader! When will you learn! What if you go berserk again and this time go on a killing spree?" Instantly, the woman knew she had taken it too far. Naruto's lips pressed into a thin line, she looked to the side with furrowed eyebrows and clenched the jacket someone had covered her with while she was out. Shikamaru looked at Tsunade slightly accusingly, unhooked his hands from behind his head and caressed the girl's shoulder,

"Oi, Naru. You can come stay over at my place. I'll watch over you. Is that okay, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade brought a hand to her chin to think for a moment. " Hmm… I guess that could be done. But not without ANBU guards around your house and the room she'd be staying in." They both looked at Naruto almost expecting her to start her usual protests. But none followed. She nodded, biting her lower lip. Gaara's knuckles went white from gripping the ledge of the window. It cracked under the pressure and drew attention to him.

"And you, Kazekage," addressed him Tsunade, "you can stay in the apartment you were supposed to stay in the first place. It will be guarded, the opposite is out of the question, and since it's the Hokage office building, guards are always around. I'm sure you understand. The given situation requires these measures."

"I understand," the man spoke for the first time since the girl woke up.

Naruto's breath caught in her throat. The voice! Gaara's voice… that beautiful husky voice... was the one haunting her, calling for her all along. Electricity shot mercilessly through her whole body and when Gaara pierced her with the very depth of his teal eyes, she knew he had felt it too.

The two of them only.

It was their little secret.

Later Tsunade made a quick checkup on Naruto only coming to the conclusion that she too, just like Gaara, was in perfect condition. When asked what she thought it was, the woman answered that the main examinations tomorrow will show and that she wasn't still sure. It was already twilight when she let them go and rest. Gaara went to his respective apartment in the building and ignored both Temari and Kankuro trying to talk to him. The man locked himself inside and dived into paperwork while guards stood both outside the door and window on the terrace. More watched over from the neighboring rooftops.

Naruto went with Shikamaru, took a quick shower and went to bed. She was really sleepy. The girl didn't really talk much, just told him she was sorry and asked him to sleep with her on the bed, she didn't want to be alone. "Of course," Shika had said and Naruto fell asleep with the feeling she is forgetting something important.

From his apartment, Gaara looked through the window into the thick darkness of the village torn by the occasional lamp. The guards on the terrace stiffened immediately. Gaara glared at them and they shifted awkwardly. "I know where you are. I can feel you" and he looked in the direction of the Nara residence. Without quite realizing it or not bothering to, the young man grinned and then the grin turned into a wide sinister smile with blood-freezing and glowing menacing eyes adoring it. An expression so demonic and sinister to its very core that the guards by the window stepped back and swallowed in fear. They both grabbed their kunai and made a signal for the guards from the neighboring roofs to get in position and hold back the Kage if it came to it.

But looking back to the dark room, they watched as the young man slowly walked to the bed, taking off his loose black shirt in the way. He went to bed. Just like that.

The guards sighed in relief and relaxed. They were just signaling the other troops that all was fine when they remembered…

…Wasn't the Kazekage an insomniac?

Under the sheets, Gaara cracked a sly demonic smile and with a chuckle licked his lips.

"Mine."


End file.
